Part of Your World
by Paulina Ann
Summary: *COMPLETE* Allura looks for her fairy tale moment and finds it in an unexpected way. Very fluffy story. Set right before the episode called "Doom Girls on the Prowl."


**Part of Your World**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Voltron or any Disney characters mentioned below (don't freak out, they're not 'real' in the story, just part of the storyline). "Part of Your World" belongs Disney's, not me. Sing it to yourself as you read. It was my inspiration. This is for fun only.

No beta on this one – all errors are mine…

Stand alone story, not part of my story arc.

In her intro to "**Happily Ever After: Sodalis Vitae," **Mertz mentioned the following: "Cubbie threw out a challenge on KAEX, asking people to write a happily ever after story for both KAEX's 15th anniversary and Voltron's 30th…" I only recently joined KAEX, so I didn't see the challenge, but I decided to do a story for this. So this is my "happily ever after" (although all of my stories will be this way I think). Perhaps this helps explain some Disney references. ; - D

**Setting and Rating:** DotU – Set right before the Voltron season 2 episode "Doom Girls on the Prowl." Rating K+

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Allura stood in the shadow of the artisan's warehouse at the base of the hill where the Castle of Lions sat. It was here that Arusian artisans had used their talents to create statues for the big parade that would be held in honor of King Alfor in just a few weeks. The warehouse was empty but she was waiting just a few more minutes to be sure that all the workers had gone home before she moved out into the sunlight that flooded the floor. As she watched dust motes drift through the sunlight on silent currents, she started thinking about what had brought her here….

A few months earlier, Hunk had introduced Allura to some animated Earth cartoons. Her favorites were the fairy tales with castles, princesses, villains, and of course, the dashing prince. She felt a connection with several of the heroines: Cinderella with her mice friends when she was so lonely after her parents died; Jasmine was spunky and had to fight off an evil wizard; and Aurora had an evil witch out to get her in Sleeping Beauty. She didn't feel as much of a connection with Belle and the Beast, except that Keith did have a thick mane of hair. Just thinking those thoughts made her smile.

She glanced around. It was safe to come out. As she walked almost silently across the floor toward a specific statue, she thought of the character she felt most like right now… Ariel. She had become caught up in the story of the mermaid in love with a human but forbidden to be near him or love him. Ariel was not so unlike herself, Allura, the princess that was allowed to be near the one she loved, but forbidden to love just a commoner. Allura came upon the statue of Coran and rotated the base so he was looking at a door and then moved to the statue of her father and rotated it so that it was facing a window. She knew they weren't real, but with what she planned to do, she would feel even sillier with those two figures watching her.

She stood up and faced the statue that she had come here for. In the cartoon, Ariel had salvaged a statue of Prince Eric from a sunken ship and put it in her treasure room. She went there and spoke to the statue like he was real. A bright ray of sunlight cut across the torso of the figure in its red and white Voltron uniform. Allura stepped up onto the pedestal and reached a hand out to the figure of Keith Kogane, Commander of the Voltron Force. She placed her hand where the sunlight fell across the chest. The sunlight had caused it to become slightly warm, but not as warm as she knew the real thing would have been. But then, she was forbidden the real thing. She planned to visit the statue as often as she could before the parade. After the parade, all the statues would be in public places and her opportunity would be gone.

The statue was life size and looked just like Keith, imposing, proud, and in control. She moved in closer and wrapped her arms around the statue of the man she wanted to hold but couldn't. A tear slid down her face as she spoke her words of affection. When she was done she stepped back. She wasn't silly enough to kiss the statue. Well, she wasn't silly enough yet.

The next evening, Keith watched as Allura left the castle for the third time this week. She never told anyone where she was going or why. He guessed it was difficult being a princess where you never had any privacy or space. He had decided to give it to her and had been following her each time, always staying out of view. He was close enough to protect but also far enough away to respect her. He started after her. Would it be the artisans' warehouse again? He wondered if she was painting or making a surprise inside. He had never gone inside nor invaded her privacy by looking in the windows before. However, tonight would be different.

Two nights ago, Allura had come out of the warehouse with a smile on her face. He could have sworn he heard her call out that she would see someone again in a night or two. He didn't hear a name and he didn't hear a response. He just knew that she had a small smile on her face and was singing a song about being under the sea. Keith had stayed behind a few minutes more but never saw anyone emerge.

His heart was heavy as he stayed in the shadow and the tree line following Allura. Was she meeting someone? Was it something romantic? He hadn't seen any signs of the princess being in love during the last week. He shook his head. He had to admit, he didn't like the thought of her being with another man. He clearly knew from Nanny's direct comments that Princess Allura was off-limits to the members of the Voltron Force. He had thought that Allura might have a crush on him, but if she was sneaking off to meet someone, he was wrong about that. What he wouldn't give to be the object of her affection.

He watched as she took a key out of her pocket and opened the warehouse door and silently slipped inside. He waited a few minutes and then moved to the door himself. He tried the handle. It was locked. He frowned. Whatever it was that she was doing, and whoever she was doing it with, she did not want to be caught. He pulled the lock pick set from his back pocket and quickly worked the lock. He slipped inside like a shadow and locked the door back with a slight click.

Allura turned around and looked at the door. Nothing. She thought she had heard a sound but then, she was always hearing sounds when she was in the warehouse. She knelt down to turn King Alfor pedestal to the window yet again.

Keith watched her working silently. What was she doing? Why was she turning the statues around? His eyes went back to scanning to warehouse. It was empty except for himself and Allura. Maybe her lover – man, he hoped it hadn't gone that far – wasn't there yet. His eyes shifted back to Allura and opened wide. She had walked to his statue and had climbed onto the pedestal. He looked at the statues of Coran and Alfor and saw that she had turned them away from his statute. He started blushing. What was she going to do to it?

Allura reached a hand out to the statue of Keith and touched the face. She then started singing softly…

Keith stood mesmerized as her voice cut through to his heart. She had been coming here to visit his statue and tell it all the things she couldn't tell him. She had continued her soft song, but he didn't hear it as he made his way quietly toward her.

He was only a few feet behind her when she finished the song and Keith knew the words were meant for him.

Allura felt a tear slide down her face as she stopped singing. Her hand went up to touch the face. She had tried to kiss the statue the last time she was in the warehouse and had nearly caused it to fall. Since it wasn't human, it didn't bend and she just wasn't tall enough to reach his lips. She sighed and ran a finger across the lips. "I really wish I could kiss you."

"Then why don't you?"

Allura gasped and spun around pressing her back against Keith's statue.

Keith smiled. The way she was standing made it look like his statue was protecting her.

Allura saw his smile and misunderstood it. She was angry as she said, "How long have you been standing there? Nevermind. It doesn't matter, you were spying on me!" She jumped from the pedestal, her face flushed with embarrassment. She immediately went to work moving the other statues back into place. She wasn't sure if Keith spoke or not, the blood was pounding in her ears too loudly for her to hear.

She marched across the warehouse to the door. She heard him running after her and she broke into a run. She didn't want to hear his explanation. She just wanted to go somewhere where she could hide her embarrassment. She snatched at the handle. Locked. Of course it was, he had locked it back, just as she had. She let out a sob as she felt his hand cover hers on the handle. She let him remove it and turn her around so she was backed against the door. There was no place to hide her shame.

Keith knew she hadn't heard anything he had said and that she thought he had been laughing at her. It was anything but that. He put a finger under her chin and raised her face. He saw the hurt and anger there, but also something else, a yearning. Keith leaned in and kissed her, using his body to press hers against the door. A fire seemed to run through him and it became an inferno as she responded to his kiss with her mouth and her body.

Allura had looked into Keith's eyes. She didn't see laughter or reproach. She saw a mirror of her own desire and when he kissed her she had responded.

When the kissing stopped, Keith kept her pressed to the door and placed his forehead against hers. He felt her hands in his hair and on the back of his neck. It felt so right to be with her this way. "By the way, I smiled earlier because it looked like my statue was protecting you, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to take on that version of myself."

Allura pictured it in her mind and it made her smile as well. "I'm sorry I over-reacted. I was just really embarrassed that you found me singing and touching your statue." She blushed again just talking about it.

"I thought you were coming here to meet another man. I… I didn't like it at all. Then I see you talking to my statue and I knew..."

He didn't have to finish the statement, Allura knew what he meant. She tilted her head back and pulled his head down for another kiss.

When they broke apart, Allura unlocked the door and they left the warehouse hand in hand. When they neared the castle, they stood in the shadows.

"It won't always be this way." Allura saw Keith's questioning look.

"We won't always have to stay in the shadows." She reached a hand out and touched his face as she had touched the statue. "We'll have our own fairy tale and happily ever after."

Keith saw the sincerity and truth in her eyes. It would happen because they would make it happen.

Allura was pulled into his embrace. She knew it was the last one before they entered the castle. He put his lips next to her ear and whispered words that warmed her heart. "Once upon a time, in the land of Arus, a beautiful princess and her knight lived happily ever after."


End file.
